


Chestnuts roasting by an open fire

by PlantsAndSwords



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: A bit of angst I guess?, Adoption, Chestnut is cold, Gen, Par is the nb term for mom/dad btw!, Parent-Child Relationship, Roguefort has a soft spot for kiddos, Walnut and Roguefort are in their civilian disguises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:00:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21567928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlantsAndSwords/pseuds/PlantsAndSwords
Summary: "Sometimes, when the chilly evening winds set in, he pauses in front of a warmly lit house with a longing gaze."-Chestnut Cookie's descriptionOn one night where he ends up gazing once again, Chestnut is given an offer that he's never been given before.
Relationships: Chestnut Cookie & Roguefort Cookie, Roguefort Cookie & Walnut Cookie
Comments: 12
Kudos: 117





	Chestnuts roasting by an open fire

Chestnut was gazing into the windows again.

Even though he never noticed it at first, it was always a daze he snapped out of, either when he heard the crunched steps of someone walking by on the snowy sidewalk or when the curtains of the window he looked into closed. Once he came back to reality, he would continue his newspaper delivery.

Every day, Chestnut delivered newspapers, through rain and shine, hot and cold, holidays and weekends- every day had a new, freshly printed paper, and during the holiday season they would be decorated with ink-pressed wreaths and stars, bringing the festive mood to everyone who read. The holiday season was a joyous time, with the festive tree being set up in the town square, Pudding ringing her bells and wishing cookies a happy holiday as everyone celebrated merrily, with each other during the day and with their families at night. 

Chestnut never celebrated during the night.

When the holidays arrived, the nights grew colder, a soft blanket of freshly fallen snow, glowing with all different colors from the lights of the town decorations and the warm homes around them. The quiet echo of christmas music from Sparklings bar, where Macaron and Marshmallow played joyfully for every cookie that came to listen and enjoy company. It brought warmth of Chestnut’s heart, but that warmth never seemed to spread through his body, in the way that even in the harshest of blizzards he could finish all his deliveries and then some without having to stop every few minutes to warm himself up.   
  
Tonight was one of those nights, with the snow falling down extra harsh, though the lights outside were on and glowing, the music couldn’t be heard, the town silent as everyone stayed bundled up in their homes, waiting out the storm. However, Chestnut still had a job to do, people were relying on their newspapers being there in the morning! After wrapping them all in a special seal to make sure the ink didn’t get wet and smeared, as it did last time, he went off on his tricycle, struggling to push the pedals completely through the snow, which was only getting thicker and higher. Delivering the papers would take much longer than usual tonight.

\---------------------------

Roguefort was one of the cookies waiting out the snowstorm, sitting in the family room of their manor, the fireplace crackling and popping as it gave off a warm glow. They snickered at the newspaper delivered the previous day, reading the headline with an odd sort of glee.

**Phantom Thief gets away again! Interview with the detective that almost caught them for good!**

The picture below the headline was clearly drawn too, a picture of the phantom thief leaping from a rooftop as they always did, soaring into the night as the small detective chased behind them, visibly shouting something. Nobody had ever really gotten a picture of the thief in real time, so when stories were published, the pictures were hand drawn based off of interpretation and witness’ accounts. Roguefort adjusted their glasses and pulled a book off a nearby bookshelf, flipping the shelf around to reveal a desk, with a map and blue calling cards, a bottle of gold sparkling ink next to it, and a coat hanger with a beige and blue cape and matching top hat. Roguefort sat at the desk and unfurled the map, already marked with circles and x’es with gold ink, and what each place was special for.  
  
“Now.. where should my next location be..? There must be somewhere that has such elegant treasures..” They spent a few minutes scanning the map, about to circle something before hearing the sound of footsteps coming from upstairs, growing loudly as they went down the stairs. In a flash, accidentally smearing gold ink and scaring Lord Crumbles III in the process, Roguefort quickly managed to close everything back up and revert the secret compartment back into its disguised form by the time the source of the footsteps walked into the room.   
  
“Oh, Walnut dear! You gave me quite the scare, I thought you were working on your project, wasn’t it?” Roguefort looked down at the small girl, closing a book they had randomly grabbed dramatically to add onto their shock.   
  
“I finished the project a little while ago. Has the new paper come yet? I was interested in reading it..” Walnut looked around, only finding the previous one folded on the chair as Roguefort left it, making a concealed yet frustrated face when reading the center headline.   
  
“Oddly enough, it hasn’t come yet! I wonder if it’s not being delivered tonight, the storm is already horrible enough as is…” Roguefort gazed outside, the snow had not let up at all, starting to pile on the windowsills and even leaving a sheet across the road. Walnut simply sighed and went up to their room, and once the coast was clear, Roguefort carefully brought out their desk again, quickly getting back to work.

\---------------------------

By this time, Chestnut would already be back in their little shelter.   
  
The shelter was pretty small, and most of it was filled with the materials to make the newspapers every day, but also had a flickering lamp and dingy couch, where he would sleep every night. There was no heat nor running water, but it still somehow felt cozy enough to him. Newspaper making had been Chestnut’s passion for a while. Ever since the last paper maker stopped their work, Chestnut decided to take their place. He didn’t really have a place to go anyways, if anything Chestnut just remembers appearing in the town one day, no memory of parents or any type of family, just him against the world.

Him against the world would be a correct term to use for this night too. Hours had passed by now, and Chestnut was only just finishing up their route delivery. The usual warming and unjamming breaks he had to take skyrocketed today, meaning that cookies got their papers much later. Along with each paper, he also packed one of his valuable matches. On a night like this, every cookie would need all the warmth they could possibly get. He was at his last paper now, just this and he could go home for the night.  
  
His body was moving much slower than usual, both from exhaustion and his limbs beginning to numb from the cold. His patchy sweater could only do so much in this case, and without gloves his hands were basically free game to frostbite. He could barely focus on how cold he was, his job came first, his duty came first, these cookies’ joy came first. Chestnut tucked the last match into the seal with the paper, weakly tossing it to the doorstep of the manor, the paper barely hitting the door as if it were a reassuring knock.

Pushing his tricycle through the snow, Chestnut hid behind a tree. If anything were to fuel him tonight, it would be seeing the satisfied look on the cookie’s face as they got their paper, and that’s what he got. The cookie behind the door carefully opened it and grabbed the newspaper, looking at the match with a smile as they inaudiably called for someone and held the paper up, the door closing after that, and the bright light from inside becoming a bit dull.   
  


That house sure looks warm.

  
For some reason, Chestnut didn’t leave like most nights, he didn’t start pedaling away, happy to complete another day of work, he stayed and watched from that distance, until his body began to slowly move. Slowly stepping through the slow, limbs shaking with each step, Chestnut gazed up at one of the upstairs windows. He couldn’t see the bedroom well enough with his hazy eyes and the distance there was from him and the window either way, but he could see the soft glow of the lamp, as a young girl bundled in comfy pajamas read his newspaper. She looked so warm, she looked so safe and cozy, she looked so _happy_. Was he happy? Was he happy to go back to his shelter after a long day? To only be surrounded by the sounds of printing as he would lie on the broken couch, holding himself for warmth until he succumbed to sleep? He loved doing his job, and he was happy to do his job, but other than that, was he happy? 

No, he wasn’t. He wasn’t happy, he hasn’t been happy for a long time, especially when the holidays came, when cookies united as friends and family, they all had each other, they all had their loved ones, but Chestnut didn’t. Did his loved ones just leave him? Did they not want him? Was he not good enough, deserving, worthy of their love? Chestnut didn’t even realize he had started crying until he felt something freezing on his face. And when he looked back up at the window after wiping the frozen tears, he saw the girl’s head turning, hiding as quickly as he could behind one of the bushes around the manor, he saw the girl get up and leave the room. They probably saw him watching, he couldn’t just stay there and hide, he had to go, and quick.  
  
Chestnut circled around to the front of the manor, the living room visible through one of the larger windows as empty, and Chestnut found himself in the trance again. The wind had gotten stronger as he had tried to run, he could feel his legs start to buckle as he moved closer toward the window, reaching for warmth, any type of warmth to hit his body. His legs felt like they were going to crack and crumble, not all cookies were made to withstand the cold. Giving up, he fell to the ground, the impact being lessened by the snow that caught him and began to cover him like a blanket of death. Muffled sounds and blurred surroundings was all he could remember before closing his eyes.

\---------------------------

“You saw someone at the window?” Rougefort peeked up from the book they were reading, having finished their secret work not too long ago and falling back into their reclined chair, petting Lord Crumbles III who eventually forgave them for the earlier scare.  
  
“Yes! I couldn’t make their appearance out too much, but they were small and had big eyes, I’ve never seen them before either, what could they want with me?!” Walnut was in a panic, anyone would be if they casually looked out their window and saw someone starting at them and then suddenly hide away. “They ran into a bush, they must still be there!”   
  
Walnut, followed by Roguefort, carefully yet quickly went up the spiral stairs that lead to Walnut’s room. Slightly opening the window, Roguefort peeked out into the storm with a flashlight and scanned the area for anyone watching.   
  
“I don’t see anyone… but we can always go through the cameras and-”   
  
The sound of a soft crunch and thud quietly echoed its way from the front of the manor to Walnut’s window. The two looking at each other before running down the stairs.   
  
“I won’t let them get away, you hide with Lord Crumbles, I’ll take care of this!” Roguefort grabbed a cane by the door, one that looked all too familiar to Walnut but with the current situation, there was no time to think of it. The doors to the manor swiftly opened with just one kick.

“ _You there! Show yourself! Who do you think you are watching my daughter from her window, I won’t let you get away with this or my name isn’t-_ ”   
  
Roguefort looked to the right of the stairs to the door, where the window in front of the living room was, it was..?!   
  
“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Roguefort quickly ran outside to the window, not giving any sort of care about not being prepared for the sudden snow and chilly wind that hit them, instead picking up the kid that had collapsed outside.   
  
“H-hey! C’mon kid, this isn’t funny! Ya’ gotta wake up!” The kid was breathing, but was giving off no other responses. They were either knocked out cold or half-conscious to the point that they couldn’t make out their surroundings.   
  
“Walnut, call a doctor!”

\---------------------------

The growing sound of a soft crackle was almost like a soothing alarm. Chestnut was still extremely out of it, half awake and gazing at the brightness in front of him. It was warm, hot even, glowing on him with a red-orange hue.

Fire, he was in front of a fire.  
  
He tried to sit up, to reach for it, but only collapsed back in front of it just like how he had woke up.   
  
“I wouldn’t recommend moving your body, you’re lucky you didn’t get hypothermia.”   
  
A mysterious cookie sat next to Chestnut, a mixed look of emotionlessness and worry brushed on their face as they gazed at him, before looking back to the fire.   
  
“You had me worried sick, I thought you were some type of robber or stalker, I never expected to find a kid like you outside of my house..” Chestnut tried to open his mouth and let out an apology. Even if he was out of it he knew he had probably given them and the girl quite a scare, but he couldn’t seem to speak.   
  
“I know you’re sorry, but you’re pretty sick, I wouldn’t strain your voice either.” Chestnut only nodded at their statement, and stared back at the fire, nestling by it’s warmth, a feeling he hadn’t felt in so long.   
  
A few moments of silence passed before the cookie’s voice grew a bit more stern and serious.   
  
“But really, what _were_ you doing out there?! Do you know how dangerous it is tonight?! And what about your parents, they must be worried sick!” Chestnut only stared for a moment before shaking their head, it seemed to successfully get the message across quickly as the cookie next to them looked quite shocked and then a bit more upset, looking down at their hands.   
  
“My little Walnut, she was like that too. Nobody out there to care for her, she almost lost her life that evening.. I’m happy I was able to take her in, she’s much happier and much safer, and she’s brought a lot of joy to my life. I lost my family too when I was young… even though they left me all of this, it was lonely without anyone else.” Chestnut turned their head to the cookie and nodded, tears in his eyes as he managed to get out a few words,   
  
“Newspaper...delivery...had...to do..”   
They looked at Chestnut for a moment before clicking two and two together.   
  
“So that’s it, you’re the one who makes and delivers the newspapers, Chestnut, wasn’t it? I suppose that’s why I don’t know too much about you, not many cookies do.” Chestnut nodded in confirmation, struggling out a few more words.   
  
“Printing…press...live...alone…” He choked out, thinking of his home, his machine, the light and the couch. How he would go home, start the next paper, and fall asleep to the sound of printing.   
  
“A printing press is nowhere for a child to live, even if you work there.” They scolded, still with a look of concern on their face, “What about food? Clothes? Everything else?”   
  
Chestnut only shook their head again, tears once again dripping down their face. The cookie grabbed he carefully, making sure he was still wrapped carefully in the blanket, and held them in a gentle hug.   
  
“No…no more. I won’t let you stay there no more. You can go for your job, but every day I want you to come back here. I’ll make sure you’re fed and warm, and Walnut’s a nice kid, I’m sure she’ll forgive you for what happened after she finds this all out. I just can’t stand to see you suffer like this. Please, just stay here, and I’ll do all I can to make you a happy child.”   
  
Chestnut nodded, he nodded once, twice, three times, he began to cry more, cries became sobs, sobs of sadness and happiness and _hope_ , hope that from now on things would become better, things would become happier, that the warmth in his heart would finally be able to spread through his whole body. He could even hear the other cookie cry a bit too, and the silent “ _Welcome Home, Chestnut._ ” they said.

\---------------------------

The snow had been shoveled and paved, and cookies were out and about once again. Pudding shouted her merry wishes as she rang her bells, Macaron and Marshmallow paraded through the town with their friends in tow, Cinnamon Cookie performed spells for the curious kids, and Sparkling and Cocoa were offering warm drinks to the cookies enjoying the outdoors again. 

And along with all these cookies being outside again, so was Chestnut, speeding through the streets as he threw newspapers and matches onto the doorsteps of cookies’ houses, smiling wide and wishing those a happy holiday.   
  
At the end of the day, everyone went into their houses again, being with the ones they loved most, and now, Chestnut did too, parking their Tricycle outside of the manor as they happy ran through the door and into the arms of the cookie that had saved them, the cookie that offered them warmth and love, Roguefort Cookie.

Walnut watched from the stairs with Lord Crumbles, giving a teasing snicker that attracted Roguefort’s attention. Roguefort only smiled and opened their arms a bit wider, Walnut making a small “ _psh._ ” but eventually giving in and coming down the stairs, joining the hug. The houses in the cookie town sure looked warm, they looked like they were full of love and happiness, the greatest warmth of them all.   
  
Chestnut was warm.   
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Chestnut only JUST came out but I had to do something. I had to. His desc makes me so sad so I gave him sadness and happiness.
> 
> I really do hope you enjoy this, I'm actually quite proud of it! I did this instead of my homework.
> 
> Check out my Tumblr and Twitter too if you want to talk to me about this or just follow me!
> 
> Tumblr: @plants-and-swords  
> Twitter: @PlantsAndSwords


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